From the State Capitol, where Gov. Jerry Brown has offered increased incentives to community colleges to expand online offerings, to the proliferation of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), which some universities and newly formed education companies are offering free of charge, the nation has turned its eye to the many ways that online education provides increased opportunities to college students.
Here in North County, online education has seen an explosion of its own. In just the past three years, the percentage of full-time equivalent students enrolled in a MiraCosta College online course has increased nearly 40 percent. Today, nearly one out of every three students at MiraCosta takes at least one of their college classes online.
"The conventional wisdom about why people turn to online education really holds true at a community college," said Dr. Jim Julius, faculty director of online education at MiraCosta College. "Online education is convenient. We have students here who are working, who have families and it is convenient for them to take online courses."
Take the case of Faith Missler, who lives in Mission Valley, more than 40 miles south of the Oceanside Campus.
"I can make my own hours, I can save on gas, I don't deal with the headaches of a killer commute and the education is just as good," said the 46-year-old, who went back to school after the Escondido restaurant she and her husband operated became a victim of the Great Recession.
MiraCosta College offered its first online education course in 1995. That number grew to 22 classes just four years later. Today, MiraCosta College offers roughly 200 course sections taught solely online and an additional 100 courses that are a hybrid of online and on-campus.
As MiraCosta College has expanded its online course offerings, the success and retention rates of students in online courses have steadily increased as well. In fact, MiraCosta's retention rate for students taking online courses is 15 percent higher than the statewide average. This may be because students have become more sophisticated consumers of technology and the systems to support online learning have become more efficient and user-friendly.
It is also because of the many years of online teaching experience of MiraCosta faculty, as well as their continued commitment to instructional excellence, said Julius. These well-designed online classes also may provide a better learning environment for some students, since they can decide what time during the day or week to learn the material, can back up and re-read part of a lecture, or watch a video more than once.
Part of ensuring success in an online course is also making sure that students have the same type of support services afforded to those taking the more traditional in-class courses.
To this end, MiraCosta has increased the availability of online orientation and online advising, e-tutoring, and even offers live online chatting with librarians, available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Here in North County, online education has seen an explosion of its own. In just the past three years, the percentage of full-time equivalent students enrolled in a MiraCosta College online course has increased nearly 40 percent. Today, nearly one out of every three students at MiraCosta takes at least one of their college classes online.
"The conventional wisdom about why people turn to online education really holds true at a community college," said Dr. Jim Julius, faculty director of online education at MiraCosta College. "Online education is convenient. We have students here who are working, who have families and it is convenient for them to take online courses."
Take the case of Faith Missler, who lives in Mission Valley, more than 40 miles south of the Oceanside Campus.
"I can make my own hours, I can save on gas, I don't deal with the headaches of a killer commute and the education is just as good," said the 46-year-old, who went back to school after the Escondido restaurant she and her husband operated became a victim of the Great Recession.
MiraCosta College offered its first online education course in 1995. That number grew to 22 classes just four years later. Today, MiraCosta College offers roughly 200 course sections taught solely online and an additional 100 courses that are a hybrid of online and on-campus.
As MiraCosta College has expanded its online course offerings, the success and retention rates of students in online courses have steadily increased as well. In fact, MiraCosta's retention rate for students taking online courses is 15 percent higher than the statewide average. This may be because students have become more sophisticated consumers of technology and the systems to support online learning have become more efficient and user-friendly.
It is also because of the many years of online teaching experience of MiraCosta faculty, as well as their continued commitment to instructional excellence, said Julius. These well-designed online classes also may provide a better learning environment for some students, since they can decide what time during the day or week to learn the material, can back up and re-read part of a lecture, or watch a video more than once.
Part of ensuring success in an online course is also making sure that students have the same type of support services afforded to those taking the more traditional in-class courses.
To this end, MiraCosta has increased the availability of online orientation and online advising, e-tutoring, and even offers live online chatting with librarians, available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.